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Easy Orange Chicken

We love Orange Chicken at our house, but really don’t like the breading that most Chinese restaurants have on their chicken. I wanted to come up with a recipe that was easy and tasted like the restaurant style of Orange chicken. I tried a lot of combinations, using orange juice, and orange juice reduction that I added a little sugar to, added extra orange zest, but it just seemed lacking. Then one time while I was playing with the recipe, and found that someone had finished off the orange juice, I grabbed a jar of orange marmalade and used that instead. It was so easy, I thought I was cheating. The ending result was what we had been looking for. Thick sauce, plenty of orange flavor, and a little better than what we got at our favorite Chinese restaurant. And so here is the result of that experiment.

5 – 6 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into chunks (if you prefer slices, you can do that)

3 tablespoons minced garlic

6 tablespoons soy sauce

1 jar orange marmalade (homemade is better – use a 8 ounce jelly jar)

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (more if you like it spicier)

1 tsp. minced ginger

2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed in 3 tablespoons water

In 2 tablespoons oil, brown chicken, a little at a time, keep cooked chicken warm while cooking the rest. Cover bowl with foil to keep warm. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan and sauté garlic and ginger. Cook 1 minute. Be careful not to over cook garlic or it becomes bitter. Add soy, marmalade and red pepper flakes. Bring to boil and then pour in cornstarch slurry. Simmer for 1 to 2 minutes until thickened. Add chicken and stir to coat in sauce. Serve over rice and can top with thinly sliced green onions.